The latest nugget – which some investors seem to have overlooked – came a couple of weeks ago in a relatively obscure rules change from the Office of Thrift Supervision, a federal agency that oversees thrifts and those recently converted to mutual banks.

The bottom line is that the OTS tossed out several old rules that had been shackling small financial institutions. And now the little money engines are chugging toward some double-digit stock market gains.

Essentially, for the first time the OTS has freed mutuals to buy back as much of their stock as they want. Previously, they were restricted to repurchasing just 5 percent a year, which kept their stocks flat despite surging earnings.

Another rule the OTS threw out was a controversial regulation that had gummed up dividend waivers of the mutuals, which forced a dilution of minority-held stock and caused the corporations often to pay taxes on the dividend it waived. That is all gone, too.

Finally, the OTS has put a cherry on top and given the mutuals the same powers as their big-bank brethren by allowing them to sell financial products such as insurance and securities, as well as other services.

His firm disclosed the OTS rule changes in a special report two weeks ago. But the stocks of the small banks affected already had been edging higher for two months in anticipation of the rules change.

More than 50 small banks across the country will benefit from being cut loose.

Stocks in many of them have jumped as much as 14 percent in two months in anticipation of the change.

Among them is Richmond County Financial Corp. (RCBK), which has 25 offices spread across the dense suburban corridor from Staten Island to central New Jersey.

New Jersey mutual First Sentinel Bancorp (FLSA) is similarly up 13 percent, as is Brooklyn-based Independence Community Bank (ICBC), which has 65 offices across the metropolitan area and New Jersey.

One $5 billion-asset group, Staten Island Bancorp (SIB), which just last week posted a hefty 18.5 percent gain in core earnings in the first half, is taking advantage of its new buyback freedom with a 1.8 million-share repurchase plan.

Its stock – which had been held back in the general market malaise – added 6 percent in the last two months in anticipation of the rules change.

Understandably, some analysts are high on the new freedom for the thrifts and mutuals.

“People are just starting to look at thrifts and mutuals in ways they haven’t in a long, long time,” said Kline. “Today, they have much better assets, mostly invested in one- to four-family homes, which is far less risky and has good credit quality.”

If the Federal Reserve further hikes interest rates in the coming months, Kline said these thrifts and mutuals would get a quick boost in profits.

Analysts say smaller-market bankers have managed to buck certain banking trends that hurt their biggest rivals, such as the high cost of landing deposits with promises of high-paying CDs. Instead, locals provide superior service and hometown appeal, and they often give free checking.

They are also thriving in solid niches they have carved out under the noses of the big banking groups.

“A lot of smaller banks found their niches in between the territories of the big consolidations, areas the big banks didn’t focus on,” said Tom Hain, a banking analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Hain’s favorites in our area include Richmond County, but he said there are plenty across the nation, such as Southern California’s Firstfed Financial Corp. (FED), which already is up 26 percent in the last two months because of the rules-change prospects.

Kevin Szocik of Keefe Bruyette & Woods has given his second-highest rating to only two stocks he covers in banking -SIB and RCKB. “They’re doing great by expanding into New Jersey, where a lot of their customers are moving; it’s a perfect segue from Staten Island to Jersey,” he noted.

The rivals have also gobbled up smaller groups themselves, with RCBK last week acquiring the three-branch South Jersey Financial Corp. in Jersey’s strawberry belt and farming area.

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The Office of Thrift Supervision tossed out old rules preventing small banks from buying back shares – and now some of those banks are raking in double-digit gains. Some local winners: